Curious people knowingly invest in activities that cause them discomfort as a springboard for higher psychological peaks.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Pearls and fishsauce. Phu Quok Island, Vietnam.

Judy, Benji, Yuri and myself trekked out to phu Quok Island, which is renowned as Vietnams untouched paradise. I wouldn't described it as 'untouched' but it certainly is more so when compared to the islands of thailand. There is evidence scattered everywhere that this small island with it's white sand beaches and turquoise waters is set to be a tourist resort town complete with westerners frying themsleves in the sun. Construction sites forshadow the onslaught of resorts and bars that will line the beachfront soon. There is even talk of opening an international airport on this small island, making it ultra accesible. It is disheartening.We did not book an accomodation ahead of time, expecting to be able to find a bungalow easily enough. The bungalows we had in mind were full and they directed us next door to a resort that had opened it's doors three months prior. They had two rooms in total and both were available. The rooms were not in our budget but the serenity of the beach and the beautiful large rooms drew us in and we decided to stay. We spent the day enjoying our books and relaxing under the shade of palm trees on the beach. As evening approached I was looking forward to an early night falling asleep to the sound of the ocean waves. The staff, however, had other ideas that included booming techno music and drinking loudly into the night. What is it with obnoxious music in Vietnam? First the sleeper bus and now on a remote beach?The following morning we moved into a bungalow elsewhere. We needed two nights but they were only able to offer us one. When we began calling other accomodations in the area, we were told that they did have a cheap bungalow we could take for two nights. We happily agreed to take it. I believe the bungalow we had was rarely used, except for overflow when needed. Not wanting to lose our business it was offered to us. It was just a room, situated at the far back of the property beside staff bungalows. We shared the public washrooms, along with the staff. We did not fall asleep to the sound of the ocean waves because the bungalow was set so far back on the property but we did get lulled to sleep by the hum of the generator. I slept like a baby and couldn't have been happier!Phu Quok is known for it's pearls, peppercorns and fishsauce! We explored the pearl farm and the fishsauce distillery. Niether was as smelly as we anticipated and we enjoyed learning about the process'. I did not invest in any fishsauce but I did purchase some pearls.